History Main / PerfectlyArrangedMarriage

* Earlier seasons of ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' imply that the main villain Wolffy and his wife Wolnie dated each other before becoming HappilyMarried, but the third film retcons it into an arranged marriage. In the film, Wolnie works at a canteen before she meets Wolffy. The canteen prepares a horrible-tasting plate of fried rice and tells all the male wolves in the building that if any of them can eat the whole thing, they'll get to marry Wolnie. Wolffy, who misses this announcement, sneaks into the canteen to eat the fried rice. Cue Wolffy and Wolnie getting married and being happy with each other.

** Sort of. There is no arranged engagement between Mary and Matthew, but her parents and grandmother seem to think it would be awfully convenient if they fell in love (their marriage would keep the estate in the family), and they do everything they can to facilitate it. [[spoiler:TheyDo, though Mary regards the family's meddling as more an impediment to their eventual marriage than helpful.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper:'' King Dominick and Princess Anneliese are betrothed, and he ''thinks'' his burgeoning romance with her is this. In reality, it's not actually Anneliese but her IdenticalStranger Erika, who's disguised as her to keep the engagement on while the real princess has been kidnapped. In the end, everything works out when Anneliese returns and Dominick and Erika marry.

* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty''. "Father, you're living in the past. This is the Fourteenth Century!" declares Prince Phillip. Luckily, the girl he met in the woods turns out to be the princess to whom he's been betrothed for sixteen years. It works with the princess herself as well. Aurora (aka Briar Rose) is [[HeroicBSOD rather understandably devastated]] when she finds out about her arranged marriage to Prince Phillip (not to mention that the poor girl has just found out that she's a princess, meaning ''her whole life up until then was a lie'') until she discovers that Prince Phillip and that nice guy she met in the forest are the same person. The TrueLovesKiss that Phillip gave Aurora to wake her up certainly helps.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'' toys with this, as pictured above. Prince Derek and Princess Odette, the heirs of two neighboring kingdoms, are betrothed to each other by her widowed father and his widowed mother, who are good friends and want to unite their realms. Forced to spend every summer together, the two generally dislike each other and have to be physically forced into the same space. Then one day they meet each other after puberty, and it's LoveAtFirstSight. Derek demands that the wedding be arranged, but when Odette asks him why, he replies that she's beautiful... and when she asks "Anything else?" he replies, "What else is there?" (Cue the mass FacePalm from the guests.) Odette promptly refuses to marry him, but they are happily married in the end, so the trope is ultimately played straight.

* In a bit of a roundabout way in ''[[Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire Catching Fire/Mockingjay]]''. President Snow does not arrange Peeta and Katniss's marriage per se, but they know they will have to play the role of lovebirds for the rest of their lives unless they want the Capitol to punish them (and murder their friends and family), so marriage will be inevitable. Katniss suggests the marriage in the hopes of appeasing Snow a bit and Peeta very reluctantly agrees to it (he's in love with her, but doesn't want her to marry him because she ''has'' to). In the end, she marries him out of genuine love, and they live as happily ever after as a pair of deeply traumatized young adults can.

* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': Rose's cousin Sven is scheduled for an arranged marriage, but falls for Blanche instead. When the arranged bride shows up, she's a gorgeous Swedish girl, and he drops Blanche like a hot potato.

-->''I'm not looking for perfection, and I'm not offering a saint''
-->''I'm not looking for a pretty bird to put in some restraint''
-->''The only thing I want is that you love me if you can''

* In ''Cinna'' by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Corneille Pierre Corneille]], the Emperor is stunned when he sees Émilie loves Cinna "already" because he arranged their marriage the same day. She clarifies they actually loved each other in secret for four years (not much of a coincidence, Cinna asked for the arranged marriage).

* In ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', crown princess Elodie is expected to marry and give birth to at least one heir for her throne, and does so in most routes. A few of her marriage options can potentially lead to this, although for most of them it varies depending on your choices throughout the game.

* ''Webcomic/RedString'' uses the "arranged couple meet without recognizing each other variant" before it turns out [[spoiler:the arranged marriage was set up by the boy's mother so he'd at least have the chance to marry a spirited normal girl instead of a stuffy socialite as per his father's wishes. Then his father called it off.]]

** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] interestingly: Pakku and Kanna were engaged when they were younger, but she apparently didn't love him and ran off to the South Pole, having a more or less happy family with somebody else and becoming Katara and Sokka's grandmother. (Meanwhile, Pakku became ''really'' embittered towards women as a whole, and didn't get over it until meeting Katara.) [[NewOldFlame They met decades later]], [[DecemberDecemberRomance and married in their senior years]].

* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Leggo My Meg-o": a parody of ''Film/{{Taken}}'', where Meg and a friend are abducted in Paris by human traffickers. As Brian and Stewie go about trying to find and rescue her in Paris, she is sold at an auction to a wealthy Arab sheikh. She ends up on his yacht, and it turns out the Sheikh's son wants to marry her and make her his princess, with full access to all the riches of his kingdom -- and he's a nice guy, about Meg's age, and not bad looking -- and if she turns him down, he'll be sad but he'll fly her home on his private jet. Meg thinks her dreams have come true and wants to marry him -- [[UnwantedRescue but just then Stewie bursts into the yacht's stateroom and shoots the prince dead]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had it happen with Apu. He spends the entirety of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E7TheTwoMrsNahasapeemapetilons The Two Nahasapeemapetilons]]" trying to get out of his arranged marriage, but when he meets the woman (Manjula) at the wedding he's instantly charmed. (And, she points out, if it doesn't work they can always divorce.)

!!Examples:

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/AiYoriAoshi'' is this without the SlapSlapKiss start. The difference occurs because the families had ''annulled'' the arranged marriage before the plot even began, and they felt otherwise. SlapSlapKiss wouldn't [[DudeNotFunny really be funny]] in the guy's case due to the [[AbusiveParents Abusive Grandfather.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'', Gennosuke Koga and Iga-no-Oboro's betrothal is arranged in order to put an end to the long-standing war between their respective families. Conveniently, they both fall in LoveAtFirstSight ([[ToyShip as kids]], in the anime; as adults, in the manga). Later, things go straight to hell [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding And they end up]] TogetherInDeath.]]
** In a sort-of variation, it's mentioned in the manga that Gennosuke actually was ''not'' the first option for Oboro. Her grandmother Ogen had thought at first of engaging Oboro to [[NumberTwo her second-in-command]], Tenzen Yakushiji, but decided against it since she didn't fully trust him. [[spoiler: Considering that Tenzen turned out to be a ninja version of the EvilChancellor ''and'' the series' especially cruel and sadistic BigBad, [[ProperlyParanoid she was right]]. Obviously, that didn't stop him from trying to [[IHaveYouNowMyPretty get Oboro as his puppet bride]] after Ogen's death]].
* In ''Manga/BlackButler'', 10-year-old Ciel has an ArrangedMarriage with [[KissingCousins his cousin Elizabeth]]. Interestingly enough, even from the beginning, there's no objections or SlapSlapKiss from either side, and both of them take it as being natural and are rather fond of each other. Of course, [[ToyShip they are only kids...]] It ought to be noted as well that three years later in the manga, despite [[BreakTheCutie all the awful things that happened to Ciel that left him orphaned, abused, atheist, and a little too grown-up for his age]], Ciel's love for Elizabeth is even stronger. [[spoiler:And she [[ViolentlyProtectiveGirlfriend does her best to protect him]], now that she has [[TookALevelInBadass taken a level in badass]].]]
* Teharu Kosukegawa in ''Manga/{{Change 123}}'' finds out that his father has engaged him to marry the daughter of the man who saved him from a bear. Kosukegawa, who is already in a close relationship with Motoko (MultiplePersonalities notwithstanding (they're even ''helping'')), and naturally goes up to the country to politely turn her down. Until the girl in question turns out to ''be'' Motoko.
* ''Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx'' centers around a team of [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage state-assigned]] mecha pilot pairs whose relationships ([[PragmaticPansexuality although not always romantic in nature]]) are surrounded by sexual metaphors. Many of these pairings don't work out--whether because of cruelty, IncompatibleOrientation, or just plain incompatibility--but Ichigo and Goro were friends even before being paired [[spoiler:and Goro has always loved her. By the DistantFinale, they've gotten married for real]].
-->'''Ichigo:''' Thank you for being my partner.
* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' presents two examples:
** The Ubuyashiki family, lords of the Demon Slayer Corps, have their leaders afflicted to an accursed disease that eventually eat away their bodies in their youth, to ease the burden of this curse the Ubuyashiki head is always paired to a woman descended from a family of priests that have watched over the Ubuyashikis since they were cursed; in the present Kagaya Ubuyashiki and his wife Amane continued this tradition, however, they are actually very much in love with each other, Amane seeing her marriage beyond mere duty.
** Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, is married to three beautiful kunoichi as per custom of his former Shinobi clan, the original intent was for Tengen to treat them as mere breeding tools to produce more children to the clan, and eventually sacrifice themselves in a mission if needed; however, Tengen is not as cold blooded and heartless as his former clan, he wanted a better life for himself, Hinatsuru, Suma and Makio, which led them to defect, prioritizing their happiness together.
* Yura Kawada and Makoto Onoda, the main couple in ''Manga/FutariEcchi''. In a variation, the relationship is arranged via a matchmaking service.
* Yomi and Noriyuki in ''Anime/GaReiZero'' are engaged to be married by their fathers. Yomi's adoptive father did give her the choice to call off the marriage if she didn't want it, but she still accepted while pretending it was a sense of duty. The truth was that Yomi and Noriyuki do love each other. Sadly, tragedy strikes Yomi and their engagement gets cancelled by Noriyuki's father.
* Used in 70s shoujo manga ''Manga/HaikarasanGaTooru'', where the Hanamura and Ijyuin clans arrange a marriage between [[TheLadette Benio Hanamura]] and Shinobu Iijyuin before they were even born. PluckyGirl Benio refuses the idea at first, but when she sees that Shinobu is a genuinely NiceGuy who ''does'' care for her, she starts falling for him. [[spoiler: And ''then'', they become StarCrossedLovers. Until the BittersweetEnding, that is.]]
** There's also a variant in this: [[spoiler: Benio and Shinobu's engagement was arranged as a sort-of compensation [[StarCrossedLovers for a love match that couldn't be consummated]], between Benio's now-deceased grandfather and Shinobu's beloved grandmother [[RaisedByGrandparents who raised him instead of his parents]]. Therefore, Shinobu initially accepted the arrangement more calmly than Benio because he wanted to fulfill a promise to his grandma that was made decades ago, and ''then'' he met Benio and fell for her genuinely.]]
* ''Manga/InThisCornerOfTheWorld'''s main plot starts when main character Suzu gets a proposal of marriage from Shuusaku Houjou, a man she's never met, seemingly out of nowhere (or [[ForgottenFirstMeeting so she thinks]]) and her parents accept the marriage terms for her when she comes home late. Despite how sudden this is for Suzu, she does gradually grow to love him back.
* Kashiwagi from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' explains in late chapters that while she was asked in typical high school romance fashion, she was still calculating that this boy was from a good enough family that her parents would have arranged to marry her with, so by picking him, she protected herself from an unwanted ArrangedMarriage.
* ''Anime/{{Macross 7}}'': Possibly Mylene and Gamlin. It's pretty clear that Gamlin loves Mylene and would have no problems with marrying her. Mylene, for her part, likes Gamlin well enough, but it's an open-ended question (including to herself) whether she ''loves'' him or not. Another complication to the matter is that Mylene is, at the end of the series, a mere 15 years old and really isn't too interested in thinking about marriage just yet.
* ''Anime/MyOtome'' goes through the setup for this with Mashiro and Takumi - both escape from an arranged meeting that Mashiro's staff hopes will lead to better things and meet incognito in the poor side of town. Mashiro is definitely crushing big-time on Takumi by the end - [[spoiler:and then he gives a scathing critique of her performance as queen, and his aides announce that the purpose of the visit was to announce the complete isolation of Takumi's kingdom.]]
* In ''Manga/MaisonIkkoku'', Shun Mitaka is introduced to [[{{Ojou}} Asuna Kujou]] by way of an ''omiai'' arranged by his uncle. She is head over heels in love with him. He, on the other hand, objects strongly to the union at first, partially because he is in love with Kyouko, but also because of [[WhydidItHaveToBeSnakes her large number of dogs]], of which he is ''deathly'' afraid. However, after [[spoiler: accidentally proposing to her due to a [[MistakenForPregnant misunderstanding]]]], he warms up to the idea a bit more, and eventually falls in love and marries her.
* Downplayed in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'': Athrun and Lacus are childhood friends, and supposed to marry by their politician fathers' decision. They force themselves to be nice to each other. Then government breaks, Athrun's father declares that his son's marriage is out of the question and he must track down Lacus and her father as criminals. He finally sides with Lacus and both escape. When they reunite, they also learn that Kira and Cagalli, who get along really well… [[spoiler: are actually brother and sister]]. No words exchanged, they agree "you can have Cagalli, I can have Kira? Great!" and are no longer interested in each other, except as friends.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'' plays with the trope.
** An ArrangedMarriage is set up between [[spoiler:"Black Leg" Vinsmoke Sanji, roped against his will,]] and [[spoiler:Big Mom's 35th daughter, Charlotte Pudding]], The two are perfect for each other, with LoveAtFirstSight on both parts, similar tastes, and the groom's charms and gentlemanly behavior immediately work on the NiceGirl bride. However, there are some major problems: first [[spoiler:Sanji is a member of the Straw Hats and doesn't want to leave his crew and dreams behind]], and second [[spoiler: the ''other'' person who arranged the marriage is Sanji's ''very'' abusive ArchnemesisDad Vinsmoke Judge]]. Since simply backing off the marriage isn't an option because of the parties that organized it, the bride decides to sacrifice her happiness with her groom-to-be to help him escape... [[spoiler: but the groom, whose ParentalSubstitute ''and'' TrueCompanions are being threatened if he doesn't comply ''and'' who loves his bride a lot, rejects this when she not only learns of his DarkAndTroubledPast but brings up the matter directly to him.]] Only time will tell what will happen with [[StarCrossedLovers these two]]. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for Sanji, [[DaddysLittleVillain Pudding]] ''is'' evil while acting like sweet and is in fact planning to kill him along with the rest of the Vinsmoke family just so Linlin can take away their cloning technology. Perfectly Arranged Marriage? It was a HoneyTrap... Fortunately, after a short HeroicBSOD, [[GuileHero Sanji]] keeps his NervesOfSteel and [[TheDogBitesBack decides to return to the Straw Hats to fight back]], soon finding out [[DarkAndTroubledPast Pudding's heartbreaking reasons to be the way she is]]. And a while later, Pudding '''is''' actually falling in love with Sanji, [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe as he was among the first persons who truly treated her well]].]]
** Big Mom's other daughters, Praline and Chiffon. Praline is head over heels in love with Aladine, and Chiffon and Bege are deeply devoted to each other and their child Pez. The marriages Big Mom arranged for them are so happy, in fact, that they're willing to [[spoiler: betray Big Mom]] for their husbands.
* An earlier arc in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' featured two students in an arranged marriage to seal a business alliance between their families. However, they ''do'' already love one another: the boy is an InsecureLoveInterest who wants to go abroad so he can be more appealing to his girlfriend, but said girlfriend is hurt because he made the decision without consulting her. Of course, the Host Club can't help but make sure the misunderstandings get cleared up... [[ZanyScheme using the most convoluted means as possible.]]
* [[spoiler: Juda and Alexandra]] in ''Manga/RedRiver1995''... sorta. When Ilbani sees [[BirdsOfAFeather how well the two are getting along]], he checks that [[spoiler: Juda]]'s legal spouse died in the plague and then decides to arrange for the two to be officially wed. Side materials confirm that the two were ''very'' HappilyMarried.
* ''Manga/ShamanKing'', between Yoh and Anna. She, at least, is definitely in love with him (she comes right out and admits it at least once, although not to Yoh's face). Yoh's feelings, while a little more ambiguous, definitely include affection for Anna (albeit mixed in with a healthy dose of [[DrillSergeantNasty fear]]). [[spoiler:During the Osorezan Revoir Arc -where we see Anna and Yoh's first meeting- it's explicitly shown that it was ''Yoh'' who was the first to fall in love.]] By the second half of the manga we see just how much Yoh cares for Anna; he puts her above everyone else he knows. [[spoiler: For example, when the X-Laws tell him to quit the Shaman Fight in exchange for bringing Ren back to life, he starts off by thanking everyone else for helping him get that far, then apologises to Anna and Anna alone, even though there were others who would have been disappointed because one of his reasons to become Shaman King was a promise made to her.]]
* The premise of the series ''Sore wa Totsuzen, Unmei no Aite ga'' or ''Suddenly, the Marriage Partner Showed Up''. In the near future, a Japanese government organization called the Coupling Center [[SuperBreedingProgram proposes matches based on genetic compatibility]]. A person has the right to turn down a coupling, but no protagonist has done so yet. The {{Pilot}} chapter was about a [[BrotherSisterIncest sibling pair]] determined to have superior genetic compatibility, and the series seemed determined to address the very real issues of such a system making matches that violated existing social mores and personal psychology; but after that it slipped into more conventional romance fare with other couples, using the Coupling Center as a plot device to shortcut past CannotSpitItOut territory and other romantic obstacles. (The brother/sister pair are shown still struggling with so much as a kiss in their DistantFinale epilogue of volume 1, at least, making it clear they haven't been able to overcome the Westermarck Effect yet.)
* In ''Manga/TwinStarExorcists'', Rokuro and Benio are betrothed against their will because TheProphecy says their child will save the world. They do not care for this - especially since they're barely teenagers - but understand that the other isn't to blame and eventually fall in love.
* Subverted for comedy's sake in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura''. Ryuunosuke Fujinami and Nagisa Shiowatari, at first glance, seems like they were tailor-made for each other; they're a MasculineGirlFeminineBoy pairing taken to the extent that they're ''both'' {{Wholesome Crossdresser}}s, not to mention a {{bishonen}} and a {{bifauxnen}} to boot, they both have [[AbusiveParents insane fathers]] who were [[WantedASonInstead so set on having a child of a specific gender]] that they [[RaisedAsTheOppositeGender raised them as the opposite gender]], and they're both badass martial artists. The problem? Ryuunosuke ''hates'' pretty much everything about Nagisa, because she desperately wants to be a normal girl and Nagisa has gleefully embraced his mixed-up gender. Add in Nagisa's other negative traits, such as his [[BigEater gluttonous appetite]] and [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace his constant hugging]], and Ryuunosuke can't imagine a ''less'' appealing spouse. Ironically, Nagisa is absolutely head-over-heels for Ryuunosuke, although he refuses to change who he is to make her more comfortable.
* Played with in ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne'', with Princess Millerna Sarah Aston and Prince Dryden Fassa. She and Dryden are a mild version of BelligerentSexualTension as Millerna's put off by his RichIdiotWithNoDayJob facade and Dryden is a snarky GuileHero. (Not to mention Milly has a huge crush on Allen). [[spoiler: They grow fond of each other as the series advances, and then they get married - and then the trouble starts. And when it's all solved, Dryden calls off the engagement: he cares for Millerna and might be in love with her at that point, but he feels he still has to work hard to become truly worthy of marrying a girl like her.]]
* ''Manga/TheWallflower'': Local {{Bishonen}} lady killer Ranmaru has wealthy parents who set him up in an ArrangedMarriage. He initially tries to get out of it by making the bride-to-be, Tamao, hate him. Though he could easily just break off the engagement himself, it's pretty clear he has no intention of doing so and as the story progresses it seems he really does develop genuine feelings for her. It helps that she just might be the only woman alive who is willing to love him despite his ladykiller antics. Heck, she might be the perfect match for Ranmaru because she may be too innocent or otherwise strong-willed to be thrown off by Ranmaru's usual antics. Ranmaru himself is affected by this as the only time he ever seems to show any guilt about his womanizing is when he's forced to see how it hurts Tamao.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Chapter 10 of a ''Manga/CaseClosed'' fic, ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2905018/10/30_Hugs_Heiji_and_Kazuha 30 Hugs: Heiji and Kazuha]]''. In a slight variation, they had the {{Slap Slap|Kiss}} part down just fine, but it wasn't until after they found out about the marriage that they realized the Kiss part sounded pretty nice too. They still freaked out about it immediately upon realization, but calmed down and came to their senses eventually.
* ''Fanfic/AsFateWouldHaveIt'': After seeing Nate prove himself as a Trainer and saving their daughter's life, Yancy's parents offer him the chance to become their daughter's fiance. While initially unsure on whether to accept the offer or not, the young couple eventually accept.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Blind}}'', a ''Naruto'' Fanfic, 99% of arranged marriages with a Hyuga end up this way. How, you ask? Well, the bride and groom are told at the age of 3 who they're arranged to marry but told that the other person doesn't know. They then have the option of trying to win the other person's love but have until they are 15 as they have to tell their spouse about the arrangement and when they're 16 they marry whether there is love or isn't. Many choose the former.
* While Astrid in ''Fanfic/BoundHowToTrainYourDragon'' was upset when she found out that her parents set her up with Hiccup behind her back, they become friends rather quickly when her mother asks her to get to know him, with Astrid eventually realising that Hiccup is the only person her age in Berk that she would actually ''want'' to marry.
* ''Fanfic/ByTheSea'': Ahsoka, a princess of the Togruta, is offered to the Mandalorians for betrothal, as a condition of the political alliance set up between the two past enemies. She decides to take matters into her own hands and sneaks off with the Mandalorians to vet her potential husbands herself away from her mother the Empress's supervision. Fortunately, the man she chooses and falls in love with happens to also be a more than politically appropriate mate as the crown prince of Mandalore. Their daughter is named the current monarch's successor and is placed next in line for the throne.
* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' has Frigga mention that [[GodCouple she and Odin]] became this, despite the age gap, once she realised that most of the gruffness was a front.
* ''Fanfic/ContactAtKobol'' features an interesting case where the arranged marriage backfired for the people ''arranging'' it; the highly religious Spiros family arranged for their son to marry the daughter of the equally religious Contos family, but husband and wife discovered that they each shared monotheist beliefs, [[spoiler:to the extent that they basically 'defect' to the Tau'ri to enjoy religious freedom]].
* In ''Harry Potter and the Restored Legacy'', by Crossoverpairinglover, Lucius and Narcissa are described to be this way... unlike most fanfics where it is definitely not.
* In ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfiction, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise is described as such by the fans of the Austria/Hungary couple. If not, well, either of them will be subjected to DieForOurShip. (Most frequently Austria.)
* While their marriage was [[AltarDiplomacy political]] in ''Fanfic/TheHomeWeBuiltTogether'', Astrid has no ill-will towards him while Hiccup respects her as a person and already had a crush on her. As time goes by, they develop a fondness for each other before it escalates to actual romance.
* There are a ''lot'' of Éomer/Lothíriel ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfics running around to the tune of this trope.
* ''Fanfic/AManOfIron'':
** When he was betrothed to a Frey girl, Robb Stark was understandably nervous but resigned to do his duty. Then he was introduced to [[TheUglyGuysHotDaughter Roslin Frey]] and fell hard AND fast.
** Jon Snow and Natasha Sand were both bastards, so they never expected to have a spouse picked for them. Until their families - Stark and Martell - decide to ally through their wedding, and the teens realize they do get along quite well. [[spoiler: This is later complicated somewhat when it is [[InternalReveal revealed]] that Natasha is the Black Widow, answering to the mysterious Council. Jon, unsurprisingly, feels betrayed and believes she doesn't' really love him - though he still loves her, as she loves him.]]
* In the ''Franchise/CodeGeass'' AlternateUniverseFic ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/334086 Mosaic]]'', Suzaku married Euphemia for political reasons, but that doesn't stop the couple from loving each other.
* ''Fanfic/MyFathersSon'' is a more optimistic look at Westeros, and so this isn't a constant, but does occur more regularly than expected.
** First, there's Rhaegar's duel marriages to Lyanna Stark and Elia Martell. He didn't choose either of them, and Elia's marriage was rough for the first few years. But with Lyanna's influences on all of them, they eventually cultivate a highly passionate Threesome where they all get some, and begin producing plenty of heirs in the process.
** Garlan Tyrell is forced into a marriage with one Melissa Fossoway to stabilize the Reach after [[spoiler: Mace committed suicide after the death of Wilas.]] Given the AgeGapRomance element of the marriage (Garlan was only 14 while Melissa was already 31 and a widow) it could've been highly uncomfortable, but Garlan's young honor and Melissa's calm understanding makes for a solid relationship overall.
** In the midst of the Greyjoy Rebellion, Tywin Lannister uses some leverage to get a betrothal between his daughter Cersei and Ned Stark. Of course, he already knew they were [[spoiler: StarCrossedLovers with a bastard child]], so the marriage immediately turns passionate and glorious, with Cersei already having several children by the last timeskip.
** Also during the Greyjoy Rebellion, Stannis Baratheon, partially due to the political needs of getting some favor from the rich House Hightower, and partially because he liked her during the one conversation they had beforehand, arranges to marry Lyneese Hightower. While stunned that he could be so reckless after a life built on serious preparation, the two turn out to be good for each other. Lyneese gets to keep a high class life with a man she can respect, and Stannis gets a smart wife who along with their daughter Shireen brings him all the best joys of his life.
* In the ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' fanfic ''Fanfic/NedStarkLives'', where [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Ned Stark isn't executed by Joffrey]], Robb Stark returns to the Twins to fulfil his marriage pact as part of the agreement made to stop the Lannister siege of Riverrun. He is extremely apprehensive at first, given that the Freys tend to be physically unattractive and that he had no say in the matter, but when he meets [[TheUglyGuysHotDaughter Roslin Frey]], his squire's sister, he falls for her. The marriage goes along ''very'' well, [[spoiler: even though the Freys were planning to betray the Starks just moments ago, and only stopped when Walder Frey became aware of the inevitable backlash that would happen]].
* In ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/8211029/chapters/18815849 no matter how bright a torch may burn]]'', PeggySue [[GrandTheftMe Sansa-in-Cersei]], knowing that not all of the royal couple's marital issues came from Cersei, has a painful chat with Robert, who believes this trope was in effect with him and [[TheLostLenore Lyanna Stark]]. Sansa proceeds to deconstruct this outlook and forces him to acknowledge that in the end he didn't really know Lyanna, and that had she survived, he would not have been satisfied with her either. Her devotion pays off, and later their relationship improves, first in appearance, then in private, until they start moving closer to the trope, with Robert as the gregarious, approachable king and Cersei as the quiet, devout, and clever queen.
* In ''Fanfic/OurBladesAreSharp'', Lord Bolton sends [[TokenGoodTeammate his son Domeric]] at Winterfell hoping for a betrothal with [[PrincessClassic Sansa Stark]]. They hit it pretty well, which pushes Ned Stark to agree to the match. Of course, they still have to marry, and this being [[CrapsackWorld Westeros]]...
** Robb Stark and Myrcella Baratheon have shades of this, with Robb trying to write bad poetry to the princess and Myrcella daydreaming about Robb crowning her Queen of Love and Beauty. As with the above, unfortunately, there is no guarantee of a wedding at the end of the line.
* ''Fanfic/ARoseAndALion'': The betrothal of Margaery Tyrell came from Kevan first, but Tyrion wanted to be sure she would understand what she was entering into. As such, both of them have difficulties putting down their political minds or facades with each other, but they enjoy each other tremendously. Their sharp minds, breaking down the walls of each other, and finding a common connection in their empathy towards others make for an enjoyable if not perfect marriage.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12893575/106/Crazy-Trouble-With-Love-Part-7 Smoothie and]][[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13198950/20/Crazy-Trouble-With-Love-Part-8 Luffy]]'', what starts as AltarDiplomacy so Big Mom can get access to the Revolutionary Army quickly results in actual affection between the two with Smoothie even arguing with her mother to let Luffy merely be an ally rather than a subordinate, citing that Dragon already insisted the alliance wouldn't go through if Luffy wasn't a willing participant.
* ''Fanfic/SuchADotingFather'' depicts Enji and Rei Todoroki's marriage as this (as opposed to canon, where it was most definitely ''not''). Sure, Endeavor's parents were looking for a Quirk Marriage for him and approved of Glacia because her Quirk fit the bill (the reason they got married in canon), but Enji romanced Rei normally, and they're quite HappilyMarried in the present day.
* The main characters of ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3403925/1/Terms_of_Engagement Terms Of Engagement]]'' have this. [[MagnificentBastard Saito]] realizes how perfect the match is when he finds out his fiance Tokio has spent the fic [[spoiler: disguised as two different people, secretly terrorizing him and his best friend, running a spy ring and executing a BatmanGambit]].
* In ''Fanfic/ThroughADiamondSky'', it's implied that Tron and Yori were "bundled" as one of these when their Users decided to team them up. Of course, it kinda ''helped'' that their Users became HappilyMarried.
* In ''Fanfic/TheTornPrince'', this is the backstory of King Elias II and his first wife Queen Astrid. Unfortunately, their harmonious marriage ended after the queen died shortly after Felix's birth. Later, the king's advisor pressured him into marrying the daughter a duke, who became Hans's mother Ava.
* In ''Fanfic/TheYoungStag'', [[OriginalCharacter Steffon Baratheon]] is put in an arranged marriage with [[RebelliousPrincess Arya Stark]] in order to unite their houses at the beginning of the story. While Arya is initially unhappy with the arrangement, she is eventually won over by Steffon and the two make a mutual effort to make the best of things before eventually falling in love.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* Creator/DanielleLJensen really likes this trope.
** In ''Literature/MaledictionTrilogy'' human girl Cecile is abducted to marry troll prince Tristan because of a [[PropheciesAreAlwaysRight prophecy]] that their marriage would break a curse. Although distrustful at first, they gradually come to love each other.
** In ''Literature/TheBridgeKingdomArchives'' Aren, king of Ithicana, and Lara, princess of Maridrina, get married as a part of the peace treaty between the two nations - which have been fighting for generations. Again, following initial distrust, they fall in love.
* Machado de Assis wrote a short about a couple falling in love with each other while teaming up to prevent their own ArrangedMarriage.
* In the ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series, Prince Ulrik of Denmark and Princess Kristina of Sweden are headed this way. They aren't in love yet (something to do with him being in his mid-twenties and her being only nine), but they are very close. Another example is Ludwig Guenther and Emilie. Despite the disparity in their ages (he is in his fifties, she is 19), they are consistently presented as loving, mutually supportive, and politically on much the same page.
* {{Invoked}} in ''Literature/AnAcceptableTime.'' Klep, destined to be the next chief of the enemy tribe, is captured during a raid and nursed back to health by Anaral, which [[FlorenceNightingaleEffect quickly leads to a seemingly-doomed romance]]. Later, the "[[UnwantedFalseFaith goddess]]" Polly sets the terms for peace between their tribes and throws in "OH YEAH, this deal will be sealed by Klep and Anaral getting married."
* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', this crops up frequently BecauseDestinySaysSo... Destiny being a SentientCosmicForce of Prophecy who likes to reward cooperation:
** Garion and Ce'Nedra are foreordained by [[YouCantFightFate fate]] and betrothed by a five-hundred-year-old treaty between their countries. True to the trope, they engage in quite a bit of SlapSlapKiss, but also [[PlayingWithATrope played with]] in that [[LockedOutOfTheLoop neither are told about the arrangement]][[note]]Ce'Nedra knew she had to be presented as the bride of the Rivan King on her sixteenth birthday, but not that said King would actually show up or that Garion was he. Garion, for his part, knew absolutely ''nothing'', which was quite intentional.[[/note]] until after they get acquainted and fall in love anyway. As Ce'Nedra notes, Polgara was carefully managing the situation to ensure this happened.
** Garion's ultimate ancestors Riva and Beldaran are another example: Beldaran's father Belgarath makes the arrangements, somewhat to her trepidation (though she is rather pleased to find out that Riva is, in her words, "gorgeous"), but they fall in LoveAtFirstSight and remain devoted to each other for the rest of their lives. Indeed, her death basically kills Riva, who's a shadow of his former self for the rest of his life, forcing his and Beldaran's son to become Prince-Regent.
** Another notable case happens in Polgara's backstory. In order to alleviate the Arendish civil wars, it was necessary to marry off two teenage members of opposing houses, who naturally hated each other. Polgara's solution was to lock them in a room together and wait 'til the shouting stopped and the giggling began'. It works; the couple emerges hand in hand apologizing for their previous behavior and stating their rather enthusiastic willingness to do their duty.
** In general, Polgara has been doing this a lot, mostly because she's making sure that the heirs to the Rivan throne marry the right person (with the Prophecy giving her a helpful heads up as to who that is each time), and notes that she can't just tell them because young people tend to get stubborn about that sort of thing.
** Barak and Merel are introduced as a subversion: while Barak was thrilled to marry the object of his infatuation, she despised being forced into wedlock, and they turned out not to get along at all. Eventually double-subverted once BabiesMakeEverythingBetter - or at least, the third baby is a catalyst for the reconciliation, and they sort out their differences.
* Every arranged marriage, whether on the Roman or the Indian side, in the ''Literature/BelisariusSeries''.
* Creator/RobertLouisStevenson's ''The Black Arrow'' has a particularly good example. Joanna Sedley gets kidnapped from her first arranged marriage by the hero's Wicked Uncle, who intends to force her to marry the hero. The hero, Dick Shelton, ends up running for his life from outlaws with her, except that he doesn't know who she is and vice versa, and it's all very complicated and loaded with UST.
* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'' has examples of this, in a unique way, as the marriages in the book are not arranged by the parents (though they are asked for their opinion) but by the brides (plural). One sister may be in love, she will then talk to her sisters, and if the majority of them agree, the wedding takes place. Can result in a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage for a sister who was not in love initially, but [[DomesticAbuse doesn't always]].
* In ''Literature/CastleInTheAir'', [[spoiler:a former soldier asks Princess Beatrice to marry him as his StandardHeroReward. She only refuses on the grounds that she's already been engaged to Prince Justin, but decides that the marriage was arranged without her consent and thus she'll go and marry the soldier, for love. In the end, it's revealed that the soldier ''is'' Prince Justin under an enchantment. He and Beatrice go on and get married.]]
* In ''Literature/TheCurseOfChalion'', Royesse (Princess) Iselle arranges her own marriage--for rather urgent political reasons--to the crown prince of a neighboring kingdom whom she's never seen, pausing briefly to collect the rumor that he is "well-favored" (which she cynically says people will say about any prince who isn't a perfect fright), before returning to more important practical considerations. When she finally meets him, they've already bonded over their shared love and admiration for the main character, Iselle's heroic secretary, and by the morning after the wedding, he observes that they look like a couple madly in love.
* ''Literature/ADealWithADemon:'' Azazel sets up a marriage of convenience between Briar Rose and the dragon Sol, who desires half-human kids to help keep his kingdom safe with an influx of magic. The two end up genuinely falling in love, and she even chooses to stay after the seven years of the trail marriage are up.
* King Kelson of Creator/KatherineKurtz's ''Literature/{{Deryni}}'' series has truly rotten luck with his brides. His first marriage is a politically important match to a princess of a rival house who, better still, has been raised to regard him as hellspawn. Kelson is incredibly nervous, but the girl is young and beautiful - and he is seventeen - so by the time the wedding day rolls around he's convinced he's falling in love, and there are indications that the girl may be too. Unfortunately, Kelson is [[WidowedAtTheWedding widowed before the ceremony ends]]. In the next book, he falls in love with a perfectly acceptable princess - who, due to convolutions of plot, is rendered politically impossible as his wife. It is she who arranges for Kelson to marry his final prospect, a cousin who is a really ideal match from the political point of view. At first Kelson, still desperately in love with the other lady, can hardly bear the thought of marrying elsewhere; but as he gets to know Araxie better, the marriage becomes less and less distasteful to him...
* ''Literature/TheDiscreetPrincess'' has one arranged by the villain. To explain; the EvilPrince's last wish is for his PrinceCharming brother to marry the titular character and murder her as soon as they are alone. Once the misunderstandings are cleared up, the two enjoy a very long and happy marriage.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}: Literature/LordsAndLadies'': It's not an arranged relationship since they're already romantically involved, but it is literally an arranged ''marriage'' when Granny Weatherwax [[spoiler: basically intimidates Verence into skipping the marriage proposal and going straight to the part where he sets a date for the wedding, sends out invitations, and gets the dress made without even consulting Magrat about it]].
--> '''Magrat''': It was all arranged! It was all set up before I even got here! I never had a chance to say yes or no!\\
'''Nanny''': Well, what would you have said if you had had the chance?\\
'''Magrat''': Well, I...\\
'''Nanny''': You'd still be marrying the king today, would you?\\
'''Magrat''': Well...\\
'''Nanny''': You do ''want'' to marry the king, don't you?\\
'''Magrat''': Well, yes, but...\\
'''Nanny''': That's nice, then.
* In Victoria Ugryumova's ''Doppelganger for the Jester'', a political marriage between TheEmperor and a PrincessClassic turns out to be so happy for both parties that even his closest advisers wonder whether he is sick or something. His answer? "Gods, I can't believe I've fallen in love with my own wife." [[spoiler:It doesn't end well.]]
* ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' features one perfectly arranged couple that ruins ''another'' arranged couple. Duke [[BigGood Leto Atreides]] has Lady Jessica as a concubine. He has to stay technically unmarried because he is a noble and might need to link House Atreides to another House; while Jessica is a [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Bene Gesserit]] (scheming psychic space-witch), she is not of the nobility. Despite all that, they are ''very'' devotedly in love, which may have screwed the other Bene Gesserit over. Leto[=/=]Jessica was [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage arranged]] by the other Bene Gesserit [[SuperBreedingProgram as one of the last steps in a very convoluted plan]] to produce [[TheUnfettered the Kwisatz Haderach]] (''male'' scheming psychic space-witch [[StoryBreakerPower except even more powerful]]). Jessica, who can control her child's sex, was supposed to have a daughter who could be bred to a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Harkonnen]] son, and ''their'' child would be the Kwisatz Haderach. However, Jessica loved Leto so much she chose to bear him an {{heir|ClubForMen}}, [[TheHero Paul]], who as it turns out is the Kwisatz Haderach anyway. That little blip in the plan kicks off the whole epic.
** Additionally, the marriage of Count Hasimir Fenring to the Bene Gesserit Sister Margot seems to have been quite happy despite having been arranged for political reasons (not genetic ones, however, as Hasimir is a "genetic eunuch"--sterile due to inbreeding).
* Not technically arranged, but in Creator/OrsonScottCard's ''[[Literature/EndersGame Enderverse]]'' short story "Teacher's Pest" government agents manipulate Theresa and John Paul together, hoping that they'll get married and produce genius babies. They're smart enough to figure out what's happening, but, as John Paul says "even in cultures with actual arranged marriages, you're not forbidden to fall in love with your spouse."
* A somewhat odd example occurs in ''Literature/TheGiver''. All marriages are [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage selected by the Community's elders]], so the spouses don't have a choice in the matter. However, it's also mentioned that the marriages are determined by how well the two people would work together, so they all complement each other well.
* Zigzagged in ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'' with Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan who were engaged as children by their mothers. While Jiang Yanli always liked Jin Zixuan, he initially did not reciprocate and had a low opinion of her. Not wanting their children to be in an unhappy marriage, their fathers dissolved the arrangement when they were older. However, over time Jin Zixuan begins to see her good qualities, has his own JerkassRealization and geninuely falls for her. This would lead them to marry out of their own free will and were one of the few HappilyMarried couples before their tragic deaths.
* Llewelyn and Joanna in Sharon Kay Penman's ''Here Be Dragons''.
* Creator/JohnMoore's ''Literature/HeroicsForBeginners'' has this with the main character and his love interest; they met and fell in love before her father started looking for a husband for her, and so she intentionally became cold and unpleasant to all other potential suitors to put them off. Mention is also made of another prince whose family refused to let him marry until he was thirty and then betrothed him to a six-year-old girl; ten years later, he is the most envied man on the continent.
* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novels, the Mesan Alignment arranges marriages as part of a centuries-old breeding program. They do make a point of trying to bring about this trope, probably because spousal murder would put a crimp in their plans. They certainly succeeded with Albrecht Detweiler and his wife Eveline.
* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' has the Capitol pressuring Katniss and Peeta into an engagement (and later, Peeta lies that they have gotten married in secret, with the audience buying it wholesale). In truth, they are only together because the government demands it of them. However, by the end of the series they are in love and spend the rest of their lives together, eventually starting a family.
* In ''I Became the Wife of the Monstrous Crown Prince'', the protagonist Anthia is [[NextLifeAsAFictionalCharacter transferred into a R-rated novel]] where her AbusiveParents set her up in a marriage with the cursed crown prince Blake. Since she's the only one who isn't afraid of the prince's curse, Anthia and Blake fall deeply in love with each other.
* ''Literature/ThatIrresistiblePoison'' by AlessandraHazard: Prince Seyn and Prince Ksar were betrothed to each other for political reasons. But they develop sincere love for one another. So this is an ArrangedMarriage that ends well.
* Creator/PiersAnthony's ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'':
** In ''Literature/WithATangledSkein'', as Niobe and Cedric manage to sort out problems such as her being several years older and not fond of the prospect of marrying a man so much younger. With a bit of maturing by both parties and a dash of RescueRomance, they settle into a happy [[spoiler:albeit unfortunately short]] marriage.
** In ''Literature/WieldingARedSword'', this is invoked. Mym and Rapture (prince and princess in India) are put in an arranged marriage by their parents, which allows them to hear each other's thoughts and feel each other's feelings, meaning they can't help ''but'' get to know each other. So they stay in different parts of the castle, thinking that putting some distance between them will lessen the effect. Not only does that ''not'' work, but they soon find out that there is a spirit/demon/creature thing that will terrorize the princess if she's away from the prince, and due to the castle's first effect, he feels her fear. And worst of all, [[spoiler:by the time they finally come around and learn to love each other, the princess's nation falls out of favor with the prince's, and the prince's parents stick another princess in the castle with him so he can do it all over again. This time, he and princess #2 opt to escape.]]
* In ''Literature/KushielsLegacy'', Queen Ysandre de la Courcel married Cruarch Drustan mab Necthana because they loved each other. The fact that their marriage saved Terre D'Ange from an invading horde and restored Drustan to his throne ''is'', in fact, coincidental.
* In the comedic play ''Leonce und Lena'' by German 19th century writer Georg Büchner, Prince Leonce and Princess Lena run away from their arranged marriage with each other, by chance meet for the first time in a lodging house, and of course fall in love with each other.
* The prince in ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'' is told to marry the princess of a neighboring kingdom, but he wants to marry the lady who helped him at a temple It turned out that said lady ''was'' the princess since she had been sent to live in the temple for a while. And {{iron|y}}ically, the eponymous Little Mermaid made that happen by not letting him see her before she left, [[ForWantOfANail and thus lost the chance to marry him herself.]]
* In ''The Long-Nosed Princess'' by Patricia Hallowell, the eponymous Princess Felicity is arranged to marry the very handsome prince of a neighboring country, but he rejects her insultingly at first sight. She's heartbroken by this - not because she's fallen in love, but because he's destroyed her self-image. Later, while on his way to court another princess, he is attacked by Felicity's animal friends and she nurses him back to health. Why does he find himself thinking of Felicity constantly while courting the incredibly beautiful princess? And what is he going to do about that grinning fool of a Prince Harry who thinks ''he's'' going to marry Felicity?
* Discussed in the UsefulNotes/MaryTudor POV novel ''Literature/MaryBloodyMary''. Mary knows she will have an arranged marriage, and secretly hopes it will be to her governess's son Reginald Pole. Sadly, they become StarCrossedLovers, as Reginald is a devout Catholic while Mary's father is setting up his own church. Mary did eventually marry once she became queen (after the end of the book), but the marriage was not this trope.
* In ''Literature/TheMoteInGodsEye'', aristocrats Rod and Sally return from their expedition to the Moties to find they are being shepherded into an arranged marriage. Fortunately, they'd already fallen in love.
* Between Hannah and Daniel in ''Literature/TheQueensFool'', although it is a bit [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zagged]]. First, she doesn't want to marry at all and would rather stay at court when Daniel leaves to Calais. They exchange a few letters and she falls in love with him by the time she has to leave the court. They get married, but their relationship is poisoned by [[ObnoxiousInLaws Daniel's mother and sisters]], eventually resulting in her running away from him, only to realize that she really loves him when Calais is taken by the French, she escapes to England, and he gets captured.
* Occurs twice in the ''Literature/RealmOfTheElderlings'' series by Creator/RobinHobb; in both cases, a Farseer prince was engaged to a foreign princess to secure an alliance and the couple ended up falling in love. The second one ended quite well, the first one less so.
* In ''Literature/TheRiftwarCycle'', Prince Arutha is head over heels over Princess Anita and is extremely lucky that their marriage is also extremely politically beneficial for the Kingdom.
** Of course, in this case, the marriage wasn't technically arranged. Their fathers had been considering arranging said marriage, but then the Riftwar broke out and they found themselves occupied with that and never got around to actually betrothing their children before they both died. Arutha proposed to Anita on his own initiative after the war ended.
* ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' does this for Liu Bei and Lady Sun (or Sun Shang Xiang in the period operas), despite the fact that it didn't turn out so well in actual history.
* Does happen a few times in ''Literature/TheRoyalDiaries'':
** The marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI didn't start out this way, but over the course of the book they start to understand and fall for each other (and in real life they genuinely did fall in love, to the point that Louis refused to take a mistress).
** Jahanara's mother selects a bride for her oldest son Dara, who is quite eager for the marriage to take place as they have met before and were quite taken with each other. (It should be noted Jahanara's parents were an example as well.)
** Sadly, while the fictional diary of Empress Elisabeth portrayed her marriage to Franz Joseph as this, the reality was an inversion.
** Averted, much to her sorrow, with Kazunomiya: she had been in an arranged marriage with Prince Arisugawa, a marriage which both of them eagerly anticipated. Then it was broken off so she could marry the future shogun Iemochi instead. Iemochi, at the least, sympathizes with Kazunomiya's pain (as he himself can't be with the woman he loves because of class prejudice and his upcoming marriage) and is okay with her having an emotional affair with Arisugawa.
* ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'':
** In ''By Schism Rent Asunder'', King Cayleb of Charis proposes marriage to Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm in what was originally a cold-blooded political move to unite their kingdoms. When they finally meet, it is LoveAtFirstSight.
** Prince Nahrmahn of Emerald and his wife Princess Ohlyvya were betrothed at a young age and eventually ended up falling in love, much to their mutual surprise. (And benefit, as the practically-minded Ohlyvya tempers some of Nahrmahn's... more volatile characteristics.)
** Done deliberately with Irys and Hektor. [[EveryoneCanSeeIt They clearly like each other]] but both are unwilling to make a move due to the circumstances. Sharleyan decides to deal with it by making their arranged marriage a condition of the peace treaty between Charis and Corisande.
* Signe and Guibor de Barbentain, in ''Literature/ASongForArbonne'' by Creator/GuyGavrielKay. An unusual example, in that it is not supposed to please modern sensitivities - all nobles are in arranged marriages, most of them polite and civil, some downright unhappy. Signe and Guibor are introduced as a true exception, an arranged marriage that also happens to be a love match. Of course, when they are introduced, Guibor has been dead for a year, and Signe is an old woman left with happy memories.
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''.
** Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully. Catelyn was engaged to Ned's older brother Brandon and Ned was (or at least was rumored to be) in love with a woman called Lady Ashara Dayne. Brandon was killed as part of a mass execution that kicked off a civil war, and the marriage between Cat and Ned was hastily set up to keep a Stark-Tully alliance going into the war. They have five children together and are still having good sex and maintaining a loving relationship as the first book starts, despite Cat's resentments about Ned insisting on having his bastard son Jon Snow around.
** Princess Daenerys Targaryen and Drogo, Khal of the Dothraki horseriders, unexpectedly become very close soon after their marriage and are quickly eager to start a family, though the issues of consent and Stockholm/Lima Syndrome are murky given that Dany was sold to Drogo by her brother Viserys in order to gain an army. In the later books (with Drogo and Viserys now dead and Daenerys a Queen and Khaleesi in her own right), Dany is well aware that she was lucky Drogo came to care for her genuinely and that her fate could have been much less bearable, which is part of why she's campaigning against slavery.
** Also, Lord Edmure Tully and Lady Roslin Frey genuinely come to love each other, despite the wedding itself turning out... badly. [[spoiler:The infamous Red Wedding was a pretext for her family to slaughter his at the feast while Roslin got pregnant by Edmure with the next heir to Riverrun, and Edmure himself was taken captive. Roslin was tearful during the ceremony because she knew what was coming but was under threat by her father and brothers not to say anything]].
** Subverted with Prince Joffrey Baratheon and Ned and Cat's elder daughter Lady Sansa Stark. It's set up when they're preteens and Sansa genuinely falls for Joffrey and imagines him to be the perfect {{prince charming}} she always wanted to marry. Then [[spoiler:he shows his true colors by executing her father and everything goes to hell, with Joffrey lavishing cruelties on Sansa whenever possible. Sansa now despises him and is ''terrified'' when she has her first moonblood because of the prospect of Joffrey forcing himself on her. Fortunately, their engagement is ultimately broken when his family needs an alliance with the Tyrells. Less fortunately, Sansa is then put into ''another'' arranged marriage with the Lannisters, being forcibly wed to Joffrey's uncle Tyrion. However, while their marriage is not this trope, it's a huge improvement for Sansa, since Tyrion is the WhiteSheep of the family and treats her kindly]].
** Weirdly enough, Lord Roose Bolton and "Fat Walda" Frey. Roose was allowed to pick whatever Frey girl he wanted when it came to choosing a bride, with the stipulation that he would receive the girl's weight in silver as a dowry. Based on who Roose Bolton is, you wouldn't expect any marriage of his to turn out well. He even burns Walda's love letters when she writes to him. But by the fifth book, he mentions that he's "become oddly fond of [his] fat little wife," and their marriage actually seems quite happy.
** Prince Tommen Baratheon and Lady Margaery Tyrell get along famously, although due to the age difference (Tommen is eight and Margaery is sixteen) the relationship is totally devoid of any romance, with Tommen seeing her as more of a CoolBigSis figure. She was originally engaged to his older brother Joffrey, but his poisoning put an end to that (thankfully, given that Joffrey was TheCaligula).
** So far, Prince Trystane Martell and Princess Myrcella Baratheon. Both are too young for their relationship to be romantic yet, but they are said to be very close and Myrcella is enjoying her life in Dorne and looks up to Trystane's older sister Arianne. Myrcella and Trystane play ''cyvasse'' together frequently (a strategy game not unlike chess), and Trystane doesn't mind that she usually wins.
* In ''The Swans War'' trilogy, a marriage is arranged between Lady Elise and Prince Michael by their evil relatives. Both of them like each other very much when they meet and agree to do everything they can to avoid being forced to marry. That is because an alliance of their houses will empower their evil relatives even more and can produce an heir to the mythical, non-existent throne of the country, ushering in a devastating war.
* Lynn Flewelling's ''Literature/TamirTriad'' offers us Duke Rhius and Princess Ariani (parents of the main character); as Rhius put it: "I was in love with Ariani and her brother was in love with my holdings.". Played straight since they deeply loved each other when they married. Then Ariani turned mad [[spoiler: after her son was killed right after birth to save his twin sister]] and started hating her husband [[spoiler: since he knew and allowed]].
* In Rick Griffin's ''Literature/TenThousandMilesUp'' all marriages on the GenerationShip White Flower II are [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage bureaucratically arranged]], but main character captain Ateri and his wife Jakari are very much in love with each other.
* ''Literature/{{Waltharius}}'': Already before the conflict with the Huns, King Alpher of Aquitaine and King Heririch of Burgundy have made a solemn agreement that Alpher's son Walther will get Heririch's daughter Hiltgunt in marriage. Years later, when they are both hostages at Attila's court, they fall in love with each other, elope together, and in the finale, they marry.
* In ''Literature/{{Warbreaker}}'', Siri and Susebron fall in love. This is particularly surprising, given that he originally seems like an EvilOverlord and she's been sent to keep him from invading her country.
* ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'': Wax's relationship with Steris becomes this, to both their surprise. Since he's a nobleman-turned-CowboyCop-turned-nobleman and she's a [[TheSpock coldly analytical]] society lady who's [[NoSocialSkills profoundly uncomfortable in society]], they expect it to be purely a NobilityMarriesMoney partnership of convenience, but come to realize that they complement each other's talents perfectly and make a great couple.
* The book "When Dimple Met Rishi" is based on this, with the two's parents arranging for them to meet at a summer conference.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', second book in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. Early in the book, Princess Jasnah of Alethekar begins to set up an ArrangedMarriage between her student, Shallan, and her cousin, Adolin. When Adolin hears about this, he muses that letting somebody else pick a wife for him might be kind of relaxing, since Adolin is a SerialRomeo who's managed to offend every single girl in the royal court. Once they meet, it turns out they get on pretty well despite their personalities not being an obvious match. Shallan deals with the news fairly well, too: as the only daughter of a minor noble house, she had grown up assuming she'd end up in a political marriage of one sort or another. To find out her groom-to-be is, by most accounts, the most eligible bachelor in Alethkar is not too shabby. Over the course of the book and the next one, they fall genuinely in love with one another, especially with Adolin's stability, earnestness, and kindness helping to anchor Shallan as she deals with her [[MasterOfIllusion Lightweaving powers]] and their severe impact on her mental stability.
* In ''Wraith Kings: Radiance'', the bride and groom are from [[FantasticRacism drastically different]] races, consider each other ugly, and hate the idea of getting married. But their wit and BrutalHonesty about all of the above bond the two. Before vows are even spoken, they've reached an understanding.
-->''“We’ll manage well enough together, Ildiko of Gaur.”\\
She briefly touched his shoulder. "I believe you, Brishen of Bast-Haradis."''
* In Piers Anthony's ''Literature/{{Xanth}}'' book ''Roc and a Hard Place'', the King of the Nagas and Grossclout, probably the most powerful of the non-planetary demons, arrange for the marriage of Princess Nada and Prince D. Vore. Knowing that both will object to the arrangement, they and Metria come up with the idea of [[DoesThisRemindYouofAnything plonking them in a tower]] of the floating cloud castle where Roxanne Roc is undergoing community service. The two combine their resources to escape, then kill a monster together once they hit Xanth proper, as Vore proposes to Nada. (The monster started the fight.) When Nada and Vore hear their parents had arranged the match already, ''and'' set them up, they almost call things off... but decide not to.
* Souma with [[SupportingHarem Liscia, Roroa, and Naden]] in ''Literature/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom''. All of these marriages were forced upon them, but they all come to truly love each other over time. [[spoiler:In Liscia's case, this was {{invoked|Trope}} by her father, who had memories of an alternate timeline where the two met and fell in love naturally.]]
* ''LightNovel/EndoAndKobayashiLiveTheLatestOnTsundereVillainessLieselotte'':
** Siegwald and Lieselotte have been arranged to be married since very young, but their relationship has been a troubled one due to Lieselotte's aloofness, with Siegwald thinking Lieselotte never loved him. However, Lieselotte really does love Siegwald and he finds himself falling in love with her as he begins to understand [[{{Tsundere}} her personality]].
** In the previous generation, [[spoiler:August and Elizabeth]] truly loved each other and were happy to wed. Unfortunately, since the former was dying from a lifelong SoapOperaDisease and the latter has power-hungry parents, they attempted to undo the engagement despite everyone else being happy with it. Literally everyone ''else''. Case in point: More than a decade after August's death, the fact that [[spoiler:August and Elizabeth [[SomebodyToRememberHimBy have an illegitimate child]]]] comes to light. Bruno, August's younger brother and the head of the Riefenstahl clan, is not scandalized by this; his greatest concern is putting the child under the protection of the clan as ''Elizabeth''[==]'s parents have been trying to hunt the child down for all these years.
* Played hilariously in ''LightNovel/TheAmbitionOfOdaNobuna''. Nobuna arranged for her younger sister Oichi to marry Asai Nagamasa. Except that unlike the real-life Oda Nobunaga, the {{Gender Flip}}ed Nobuna doesn't actually ''have'' a younger sister Oichi. Instead she forces her younger ''brother'' Nobusumi to [[DisguisedInDrag crossdress as "Oichi"]]. Fortunately, it turns out that Asai Nagamasa [[SweetPollyOliver is actually a woman crossdressing as a man]], and the two of them fall in love. [[spoiler:After the Asai clan betrays the Oda clan, unlike in reality where things ended badly for both Nagamasa and Oichi, in this case Nagamasa fakes her death and Nobusumi resumes his real identity. Then Nagamasa takes up the false identity Oichi and marries Nobusumi again.]]
* In ''LightNovel/VioletEvergarden'', Princess Charlotte and Prince Damian. Charlotte is revealed to have fallen in love with Damian years earlier, well before their marriage was arranged. Part of her hesitation with going through with the marriage is because she feared that Damian didn't want to marry a girl ten years his junior. At Violet's encouragement, Charlotte wrote personal letters to Damian, asking what he wanted, even offering to break the engagement if he didn't feel the same way. He admits that he does love her too. Later episodes showed them being HappilyMarried.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'': It is extremely rare, but possible, for betrothed to fall in love while still underage if they're raised in the same court. It is, however, fairly common for characters who are betrothed to be raised in a way that gives them highly compatible personalities, ensuring the couple have a high opinion of each other and therefore a stable marriage. Doubly so if the player bethroths their children to compatible characters intentionally.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' has a couple examples:
** The City Elf origin story can be like this if you choose the right dialogue when interacting with your betrothed, whom you have just met. Of course, then it all goes horribly wrong...
** [[AscendedFanboy Cailan]] and Anora appear to have been this. They were betrothed when Cailan (who is a few years younger than Anora) was still in the cradle, grew up as intimate friends, and (according to the ''World of Thedas'' books) even went on a few adventures together before marrying. It didn't stop him from having mistresses now and then, according to Anora, but they love each other in their own way. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, then he gets killed at the beginning of the main game. It's also revealed that he was going to divorce her and re-marry just to become Emperor of Orlais, though documents in the game indicate that he was reluctant to do so and it took an entire year for his uncle to talk him into it.]]
** If the [[PlayerCharacter Warden]] is the daughter of [[BlueBlood House Cousland]], romances Alistair, and [[spoiler:[[HiddenBackupPrince places him on the throne of Ferelden]], she can set up one of these for herself, and all of Ferelden is enamored with the royal romance.]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' has a roundabout example that almost results in an extremely ''im''perfect arrangement: The kings of Trodain and Argonia agreed to have their children marry if they were the opposite sex. They weren't - both kings had only sons - so the agreement carried over to their grandchildren. Unfortunately, Prince Charmles of Argonia is essentially the trope namer for PrinceCharmless, and Trodain's Princess Medea (like essentially [[HateSink everyone else both in- and out-of-universe]]) hates him. But all is not lost: [[spoiler:turns out the Hero, a childhood friend of Medea, is ''also'' a potential heir to the Argonian throne - his father was the current king's older brother - and in the GoldenEnding (the only one in which the Hero learns of this heritage), even Charmles's father supports Medea marrying the Hero over Charmles.]]
* The backstory of ''VideoGame/DreamChronicles'' reveals that in the fairy world, fairies go through politically arranged marriages and that love was an alien concept among them until Aeval and Tangle, betrothed to each other, ended up genuinely falling in love and choosing to live in the mortal world so that their son Fidget could marry for love. Unfortunately, Lilith, the fairy to whom Fidget was betrothed, is ''not'' pleased when she finds out that he's married Faye, the human player character. And thus Faye's problems begin...
* We have a few in the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games, namely those between Sun Ce and his blood brother Zhou Yu and the Qiao sisters. Despite knowing very little about their future mates and having completely opposite personalities, both couples are shown to be very happy. Same goes for Liu Bei and Sun Shang Xiang. Historically, the marriage between Lady Sun and Liu Bei went terribly. She never permitted him to spend time alone with her, outfitting her maids with weapons to make sure of this, and the instant he went to war with her family she left him.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has the marriage between Princess Ashe of Dalmasca and Prince Rasler of Nabradia, with the two of them truly in love despite the union being arranged for political reasons. They even lampshade in a cutscene how people are assuming it's all to do with politics.
** The ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' characters Luna and Noctis were friends before international diplomacy demanded they marry, though they didn't know the other reciprocated their feelings. This was convenient both politically and cosmologically, as Luna and Noctis are also [[TheChosenOne fate's bitches]], and the world depends on their ability to cooperate.
* Rodrik Forrester and Elaena Glenmore are arranged to be married in ''VideoGame/GameOfThronesTelltale'', but are clearly in love besides. [[spoiler: It's to the point that when House Forrester becomes the enemy of the powerful House Bolton and Elaena is engaged to one of their allies, she becomes a RunawayFiance and joins the Forresters.]]
* In ''VideoGame/OdinSphere'', Oswald 'wins' Gwendolyn's hand -- complete with a spell that will make her love him -- by StandardHeroReward. As it turns out, the spell wouldn't have been necessary; Oswald genuinely loved her at first sight and goes through the effort of trying to have the spell lifted, and discovers (after her literally going ToHellAndBack for him) that Gwendolyn loves him without it. [[spoiler:It's a good thing too because Odin had never added the spell in the first place.]]
* A justified example in ''VideoGame/RuneScape'''s "Throne of Miscellania" quest. To become the regent of Miscellania, you are required to get engaged to [[GiftedlyBad Prince Brand]] (if female) or [[TomboyPrincess Princess Astrid]] (if male). The royal is initially unimpressed, having been presented with suitors for this purpose by their father before, so you have to actively woo them, show interest in their hobbies, bring them presents, and prove to them that your interest is more than just political. Once you succeed, they and your character fall enthusiastically in love and agree to the engagement.
* Oichi and Azai Nagamasa in ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara''. Unfortunately, Oichi's brother UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga (who arranged the marriage in the first place) is The Demon King, so all happiness went to hell, literally.
** Same thing happened in ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'', except Nobunaga was less (but still) brutal, thus while happiness still goes to hell, bittersweet tragedy also happens in play between Oichi and Nagamasa (they still love each other dearly).
** Also in the 4th game and especially its expansion, the first meeting between Sanada Nobuyuki and Inahime is basically the latter trying to shoot him dead and they both get locked in battle. And then Nobuyuki gets offered to marry her and then they realize that they're pretty compatible and loving to each other. They did end up happier than the above, although they did have to deal with the death of their stubborn brother [[UsefulNotes/SanadaYukimura Yukimura]]...
* In ''VideoGame/ShepherdsCrossing 2,'' the game's RomanceSidequest is treated more as an arranged marriage. You discuss the prospect of marriage with the town's mayor, who will set you up with one of the townsfolk provided you fulfill the town's marriage customs of giving your intended many sheep (for male players) or handmade blankets ([[TextileWorkIsFeminine for female players]]). The townsfolk agree based on how well you can fulfill these customs, making the decision for mostly practical reasons. But they're all shown to be truly happy and loving with the player character afterwards.
* ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasonsTrioOfTowns'' reveals that [[TheQuietOne Ittetsu]] and [[YamatoNadeshiko Shizu]] got introduced to each other at an omiai -- a marriage-matchmaking service. Despite their different personalities, the two are happily married and have two sons.
* Serenoa and Frederica qualify for most of ''VideoGame/TriangleStrategy''. They're arranged to be married at the start of the game, and the first chapter starts with their first meeting. Over the course of the game, they both fall in love with each other's kind and determined personalities, though things can vary slightly depending on which ending the player gets. [[spoiler:It's played fully straight in the GoldenEnding, where they get married and are completely happy together. In the Liberty ending, they get married and do care about each other, but their relationship is somewhat strained by political issues. In the Morality ending, Serenoa dies before they can get married, and in the Utility ending, Frederica ends up leaving Serenoa due to him siding with Hyzante and allowing the Roselle to stay in slavery.]]
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', an arranged marriage is suggested by Kurdran Wildhammer to stop two other Wildhammer clans from feuding, at first the man involved agrees just because it would be nice to get the families to stop fighting, but after his bride-to-be gets kidnapped and then [[ActionGirl kills three ten foot tall ogres]] with a [[FryingPanOfDoom frying pan]], [[AmazonChaser he's so smitten he's left in a stupor]], and it's revealed she has an attraction to him as well. Any last doubts get cleared up when a [[{{Cthulhumanoid}} Faceless One]] attacks the wedding, and bride and groom kick its ass equally, putting them both head over heels for one another.
** In the backstory, King Varian and his wife Tiffin had an arranged marriage, but quickly fell madly in love. Unfortunately, [[TheLostLenore it didn't last long]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Certainly the ''goal'', if not the reality, of a huge number of arranged marriages in the past. A marriage alliance will hardly pan out if the linchpin people don't like each other.
* UsefulNotes/PompeyTheGreat married Julia, the daughter of his political ally UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar, in an effort to shore up their waning alliance. Despite the [[MayDecemberRomance significant age difference between the two]], they were so caught up in each other that many of Pompey's colleagues found it indecent. It is worth noting that Pompey and Caesar's true antagonism to each other didn't arise until after Julia's death, an event that seems to have devastated both men.
* Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of the famous military commander Agrippa, was betrothed to the future emperor Tiberius when she was less than 1 year old. Despite this extremely political start, once they actually got married, they fell in love and were very happy together. Unfortunately, it ended badly, as Tiberius's stepfather/adoptive father, UsefulNotes/{{Augustus}} ordered him to divorce her for his stepsister Julia, while Vipsania was pregnant with their second child, no less.[[note]]His stepfather could do that; the ''paterfamilias'' of a Roman family had absolute authority over his children even when they were adults, especially the female ones, and especially when he was also the emperor.[[/note]] When Tiberius saw Vipsania after the divorce, he actually burst into tears, which is a sign of how much he loved her because Roman men ''did not'' show emotion in public.[[note]]Unless they were lawyers trying to win a court case, in which case ManlyTears were occasionally fashionable, but now we're getting ahead of ourselves.[[/note]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llywelyn_the_Last Llewelyn ap Gruffudd]], the last native Prince of Wales before it was conquered by the English, arranged a marriage for himself with Eleanor de Montfort, daughter of Simon de Montfort, because the latter was helping him to defend his crown and position. It turned out to be a genuine love match, despite an age difference of more than 20 years; Llewelyn is almost singularly unique among the Welsh princes for never having been known to take a mistress, and when Eleanor went the DeathByChildbirth route bringing Princess Gwenllian into the world in 1282, Llewelyn lost it. He was persuaded by his younger half-brother Dafydd to enter a dangerous campaign against the English, something he had been steadily resisting in Eleanor's lifetime, and died in the fight. (Dafydd, who then took possession of the infant princess and claimed regency, is believed by many historians to have been instrumental in luring his brother into the trap which killed him. He was eventually captured and ultimately RewardedAsATraitorDeserves by becoming the first person in recorded history to be hanged, drawn, and quartered.)
* Behold, UsefulNotes/TheCatholicMonarchs (Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile--). Following their advisors (and, on Ferdinand's part, the recommendations of his father), they mutually arranged their marriage for purely political reasons--their marriage would unite the Castilian and Aragonese branches of the House of Trastámara and place all the Christian kingdoms of Iberia (save Portugal) under a single royal line. However, they were both young, reasonably attractive, and made a good team, and by all accounts, they got along tremendously (although not good enough to keep him from taking mistresses). Additionally, at least four of their five children and their most famous grandchild all had marriages like this--with the twist that it never ended well:
** The eldest, Isabel, was betrothed to Afonso, the heir to the Portuguese crown, through a treaty in 1480. When they met in 1490, they quickly fell in love and had a happy marriage. However, it was short, because Afonso died in mysterious circumstances (he fell from his horse even though he was an excellent rider, and his Castilian valet had disappeared without a trace) that benefitted Isabel's parents. Isabel became grief-stricken, and the only reason she did not enter a convent was that her parents never allowed her to. She would eventually marry Afonso's uncle, King Manuel I of Portugal, but she died giving birth to their child, Miguel (who in turn died less than a month short of his second birthday), to the deep sadness of her parents (and their political disappointment: they had hoped Miguel would unify the Iberian kingdoms). Isabel's younger sister, Maria, became Manuel's next wife; theirs was the only marriage involving the Catholic Monarchs' children that ended up as a boring late-medieval/early-modern royal marriage characterised by neither great love nor great tragedy.
** Their only son, Juan, was betrothed to Margaret of Austria as part of an alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I. The two of them fell in love quickly, and, apparently, spent a lot of time in bed together. However, an illness took him before their first anniversary.
** Juana, their third child and (after the business with Isabel and Juan) heiress to the unified kingdom, married Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy, through the same alliance that married Juan and Margaret (Philip was Maximilian's only son and heir). The marriage turned out this way... too much. They literally fell in love at first sight,[[note]]Hardly surprising, considering they were both teenagers, of similar temperaments, and, oh yeah, attractive -- he wasn't called Philip the Handsome for nothing, and Juana was by all portraits and accounts a stunning pale redhead.[[/note]] and they begged to have the marriage formalized the day they met so they could get it on right away. They had six children (including [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire Holy Roman Emperor]] UsefulNotes/CharlesV, the ruler of the first "empire on which the Sun never sets"). Eventually, things happened, and [[{{Yandere}} Juana started to get jealous]]--but she still loved Philip deeply. But then he died young, and her grief and her jealousy had some kind of wicked party in her head with a familial disposition towards insanity (in fact, it was something of a minor miracle that both of her parents were sound of mind, given that both were members of the [[TangledFamilyTree ridiculously-inbred House of Trastamara]]). Hence the epithet "the Mad" - her father Ferdinand had to become Regent of Castile upon his daughter's ascension instead of ruling jointly until she inherited Aragon upon his death. She also carried around Philip's dead body on her travels, another reason for her to be considered mad. And she had him buried so that she could see his tomb from her bedroom's window. Poor mad girl indeed. Phillip the Handsome's death would require a trope of its own.
** Perhaps Ferdinand and Isabella's most famous child was their fifth, Catalina--known to history as Catherine of Aragon. Betrothed to the English heir Arthur, Prince of Wales, she went ahead and married him; we'll never know how good that marriage could have been, as Arthur died shortly after the wedding. However, Arthur's younger brother, the new heir [[UsefulNotes/HenryVIII Henry]], was a well-educated and boisterous-but-goodhearted young man, and Catherine apparently found him charming, at least in an amusing-boy way. The English court (after some hemming and hawing) thus decided it would be best if Henry married his brother's widow--even though [[{{Foreshadowing}} this required special dispensation from the Pope]]. The marriage was ''very'' happy for the better part of its 24-year existence (although not happy enough to keep Henry from taking mistresses)--but of course, we all know how it ended...
** The aforementioned Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor--son of Juana the Mad and Philip the Handsome--initially selected his [[TheWomanWearingTheQueenlyMask very competent]] [[KissingCousins cousin]] Isabella of Portugal - Manuel I and Maria's eldest daughter - to be his wife for purely political reasons. When they met for the first time (to finalize the agreement), however, they fell intensely in love with each other almost at once. They honeymooned for several months at the Alhambra in Granada, where he ordered the seeds of a red carnation, which delighted her. He then ordered thousands more to be planted in her honour, establishing it as Spain's floral emblem. As a sign of how happy the marriage truly was, he remained faithful to her for as long as she lived. Despite their mutual affection, their marriage was not easy due to his constant absences. She wrote to him regularly, but often spent months without receiving letters, and he was even absent when she died. He was so distraught that he retired to a monastery for two whole months of mourning.[[note]] He would later return to the monastery after too many years fighting the Wars of Religion in Central Europe led him to Abdicate the Throne completely.[[/note]] Even on a practical level, her death was a big blow - she had been ruling Spain as regent during his absences and there were few people he could trust as much as his very competent wife to take care of business there. He never emotionally recovered from her death; wearing black for the rest of his life and never remarrying[[note]], though he had an affair long after her death[[/note]]. In her memory, he commissioned portraits, which he kept with him whenever he was. As he was dying, he held the same cross she had held as she had passed.
* As with all tropes associated with royalty, the monarchies of the various British kingdoms are rich in examples of this one:
** Henry III was devoted to his queen, Eleanor of Provence, whom he was married to so England could forge alliances in southern France to strengthen their slipping grip on Gascony.
** [[UsefulNotes/EdwardTheFirst Edward I]] was fortunate in having this with ''both'' his marriages.
*** With his first wife, Eleanor of Castile[[note]]Incidentally, a paternal-line great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great aunt of the aforementioned Isabella of Castile[[/note]]. They were famously devoted to each other, having married quite young at 15 and 12 respectively as part of an alliance between his father, Henry III of England, and her half-brother, Alfonso X of Castile. Despite having only met each other the day before the wedding, Edward and Eleanor became virtually inseparable over their 36 years of marriage, and Edward was never known to have taken any mistresses. Utterly distraught when Eleanor died in 1290, Edward accompanied his beloved wife's body back to London and ordered the construction of memorial crosses at every place where Eleanor's body rested for the night, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_cross Eleanor crosses]], some of which still survive.
*** With his second wife, Margaret of France. Despite a 40-year age gap (he was 60, she was 20), they were said to have been extremely happy. She was kind and loving, and was a very GoodStepmother to his children by his first wife. She was known for her unjealous nature, attending memorial services for Eleanor with him and even naming their own daughter Eleanor after her. When he died, after just 8 years of happy marriage and despite her only being 28, she never remarried, famously saying, "When he died, all men died for me". She remained close to her stepchildren though, even attending the births of their children.
** Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault are indicated by many historical records to have been this, complete with ten children. He has no record of illegitimate children during their marriage. She frequently governed England on his behalf while he was fighting in the Hundred Years' War.
** [[UsefulNotes/RichardTheSecond Richard II]] and his first wife Anne of Bohemia, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, married basically as the result of a papal schism (the Roman Pope, Urban VI, urged an alliance against Team Avignon), and while the marriage was very unpopular initially -- Richard had to lend his new brother-in-law (Emperor-elect Wenceslaus IV) a substantial sum to pay for Anne's journey to England, while Wenceslaus couldn't afford to provide Anne with a dowry -- it was a huge success at the personal level, and Richard and Anne soon proved to be inseparable; they didn't even really maintain separate households, as was usual with medieval monarchs. Richard was, unusually for a medieval English king, genuinely interested in his wife's culture and indulgent of her large retinue, and although they were unable to have children, Richard never held it against Anne (the traditional practice at the time was to blame infertility on the woman). When she died, possibly of plague, in 1394, Richard was utterly devastated; he assaulted the Earl of Arundel for being late to her funeral and asking to leave early[[note]]Richard had some bad blood with Arundel, it must be said, and some of this involved Arundel having a history of disrespecting Anne[[/note]], and he later had the palace of Sheen, where she had died, torn down. It is likely that Richard's grief for Anne contributed to the general instability he experienced in the final years of his reign, leading to his deposition and murder.
** Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, parents of Henry VIII, also fell into this. Their marriage was arranged by their politically ambitious mothers, who were jointly eager to oust Richard III; Elizabeth's claim to the throne (being the eldest child of Edward IV) was a mite stronger than the young Tudor heir's (being a maternal-line great-grandson of a legitimised bastard grandson of Edward III), but Henry [[HeirClubForMen was a man]] and the Tudors were better able to [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority raise an army]] (through their Welsh connections). By uniting the claims, they both had a better chance of success. The couple accepted it without much complaint, and by the time they were a few years into the marriage, it was a genuine love match. It probably didn't hurt that Elizabeth was the WorldsMostBeautifulWoman of the day, while Henry was shrewd and conniving but kind-hearted and pious; unlike their son, historians can find no indication that he ever took a mistress. Notably, when Elizabeth died, Henry was so devastated that he fell deathly ill. No one except his own mother could get anywhere near him for weeks, and when he finally agreed to consider finding a new wife, his description of what he wanted was basically a carbon copy of Elizabeth. He ultimately did not remarry, and only outlived her by six years.
** [[UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfStuart Anne of Great Britain]] and Prince George of Denmark. The marriage was arranged by Anne's uncle and was a devoted and loving one.
** The British monarchs of UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfHanover produced three of these.[[note]]UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria and Prince Albert don't count. Rather than being set up by their parents or governments and falling in love after the marriage, they married because, of Victoria's multiple eligible royal suitors, Albert was the one she fell in love with. Not quite the same.[[/note]]
*** George II and his wife Caroline of Ansbach were HappilyMarried and devoted to each other. George particularly relied on Caroline's advice in politics, as she was universally acknowledged as a much shrewder player than her husband. They were happy even in spite of his [[ReallyGetsAround constant philandering]]--she knew of and cleared all his [[TheMistress mistresses]] ahead of time, vetting them for both personal flaws and potential political entanglements. He never remarried after her death: Caroline begged him ''on her deathbed'' to remarry when she was gone, but he was so certain no woman could replace her that he replied tearfully, "''[[GratuitousFrench Non, j'aurais des maîtresses!]]''" ("No, I shall have mistresses!").
*** George II's grandson and successor George III, despite only meeting Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz on their wedding day, was HappilyMarried to her. He and Charlotte were absolutely devoted to one another, even to the point where they would [[KingIncognito take walks together in the English countryside dressed as relatively ordinary gentry]] with absolutely minimal security. Unlike his grandfather and father--and most of his sons--he never took a mistress. Together they had fifteen children (eleven of whom lived past the age of 60).
*** George III's third son William IV was originally reluctant to make a political marriage, choosing instead to live unmarried for twenty years with an unsuitable Irish actress (by whom he had 10 children). However, after that relationship ended, he married the German princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meningen as a political match--and a financial one (he had been deeply in debt before the marriage). The marriage got off to a rocky start: William famously treated the wedding ceremony as a joke, offending the pious Adelaide. However, with time, the marriage proved to be a happy one; William does not appear to have strayed much if at all, and he treated her as a confidante and advisor as well as a beloved wife (much as his great-grandfather George II had treated his great-grandmother Caroline). For her part, Adelaide was happy to treat her husband's illegitimate children almost as her own - especially the youngest ones, as neither of her own daughters with William survived infancy. She also shared her husband's great affection for his niece and heiress presumptive Victoria; Victoria's mother's incessant snubs to Adelaide were the trigger for William's famous announcement that [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech his only mission in life was to live just long enough to allow Victoria to become Queen without a regency]]. (He just barely did, to Victoria's eternal gratitude.)
** Princess Mary of Teck ([[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Elizabeth II]]'s grandmother) was engaged to marry Prince Albert, second-in-line to the throne, but he died of influenza six weeks into their engagement. Queen Victoria subsequently set up Mary with the new second-in-line, Albert's shy younger brother George (the future King George V), and the couple were soon pressured into an engagement by their families. Nonetheless, they quickly fell in love and remained devoted to each other throughout the lives.
* Ottoman Empire:
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyhan_Sultan_(daughter_of_Selim_I) Beyhan Sultan]](who is also a supporting character in [[Series/MagnificentCentury Magnificent Century]]), was more loyal to her husband, Ferhat Pasha, than her family.
** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaya_Sultan Ismihan Kaya Sultan]]'s marriage started off poorly (she threatened her husband with a knife on her wedding day; and [[OldManMarryingAChild she was 13 while he was in his mid-fifties]]). However, according to Ottoman traveler Evliya Celebi, none of the princesses and their husbands got on as well as Kaya and Melek. She was also important to her husband’s career. When she died in childbirth aged 26, Melek reportedly wept uncontrollably on her coffin.
* The marriage between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Hungary#Early_life_and_marriage Princess Elizabeth of Hungary and Landgrave Ludwig IV of Thuringia]]. It certainly helped that she went to live with his family when they were both children and got to befriend each other first, thus making them also [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Victorious Childhood Friends]]. Ludwig was a staunch supporter of Elizabeth's religious and charitable work, despite the disapproval of the rest of his family. After he died, she ran away from both her in-laws and her own family and preferred to become a nun rather than remarry. She was later named a saint.
* The case of Sisi and Franz Josef spawned one of these - but ''not'' for Sisi and Franz Josef themselves. While they got along decently for royals, inasmuch as they didn't really fight (though he probably got two or three mistresses over the life of their marriage), [[UnrequitedLove Franz Josef was way more into Sisi than she was into him]]; as the free-spirited Sisi found the ultraconservative Franz Josef a little stiff. Instead, it was Helene of Wittelsbach, Sisi's older sister, whose ArrangedMarriage with Prince Maximilian of Thurn and Taxis turned out to be very happy. Indeed, Nene was the ''only'' HappilyMarried one among the ''very'' [[LoveHurts unlucky-in-love]] Wittesbach sisters until Maximilian died of kidney failure at the age of 36. [[TheMourningAfter Helene never remarried, and turned to philanthropy and managing the family businesses to ease her loneliness.]] The particularly ironic part of the whole thing is Helene was originally intended for Franz Josef.
* [[https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/real-stories/the-african-princess-sarah-forbes-bonetta/ Sarah Forbes Bonetta]] was forced into a marriage with James Pinson Labulo Davies, which she initially refused, citing the fact that she did not truly love him (or even ''know'' him). Eventually, she agreed to marry him, and they were HappilyMarried for nearly 20 years until her death in 1880.

[[/folder]]

* John and Esme are married off to one another on ''Series/PeakyBlinders'' in order to bring their families together and stop an all-out war. John is none too pleased when he first finds out but doesn't mind much when he sees that Esme is beautiful. They seem quite happy together after a little while and genuinely love one another.

* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper:'' King Dominic and Princess Anneliese are betrothed, and he ''thinks'' his burgeoning romance with her is this. In reality, it's not actually Anneliese but her IdenticalStranger Erika, who's disguised as her to keep the engagement on while the real Anneliese has been kidnapped. In the end, everything works out when Anneliese returns and Dominic and Erika marry.

* Played hilariously in ''LightNovel/TheAmbitionOfOdaNobuna''. Nobuna arranged for her younger sister Oichi to marry Asai Nagamasa. Except that unlike the real-life Oda Nobunaga, [[GenderFlip Nobuna]] doesn't actually ''have'' a younger sister Oichi. Instead she forces her younger ''brother'' Nobusumi to [[DisguisedInDrag crossdress as "Oichi"]]. Fortunately, it turns out that Asai Nagamasa [[SweetPollyOliver is actually a woman crossdressing as a man]], and the two of them fall in love. [[spoiler:After the Asai clan betrays the Oda clan, unlike in reality where things ended badly for both Nagamasa and Oichi, in this case Nagamasa fakes her death and Nobusumi resumes his real identity. Then Nagamasa takes up the false identity Oichi and marries Nobusumi again.]]

* ''LightNovel/EndoAndKobayashiLiveTheLatestOnTsundereVillainessLieselotte'':
** Siegwald and Lieselotte have been arranged to be married since very young, but their relationship has been a troubled one due to Lieselotte's aloofness, with Siegwald thinking Lieselotte never loved him. However, Lieselotte really does love Siegwald and he finds himself falling in love with her as he begins to understand [[{{Tsundere}} her personality]].
** In the previous generation, [[spoiler:August and Elizabeth]] truly loved each other and were happy to wed. Unfortunately, since the former was dying from a lifelong SoapOperaDisease and the latter has power-hungry parents, they attempted to undo the engagement despite everyone else being happy with it. Literally everyone ''else''. Case in point: More than a decade after August's death, the fact that [[spoiler:August and Elizabeth [[SomebodyToRememberHimBy have an illegitimate child]]]] comes to light. Bruno, August's younger brother and the head of the Riefenstahl clan, is not scandalized by this; his greatest concern is putting the child under the protection of the clan as ''Elizabeth''[==]'s parents have been trying to hunt the child down for all these years.

* Souma with [[SupportingHarem Liscia, Roroa, and Naden]] in ''LightNovel/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom''. All of these marriages were forced upon them, but they all come to truly love each other over time. [[spoiler:In Liscia's case, this was {{invoked|Trope}} by her father, who had memories of an alternate timeline where the two met and fell in love naturally.]]

* In ''LightNovel/VioletEvergarden'', Princess Charlotte and Prince Damian. Charlotte is revealed to have fallen in love with Damian years earlier, well before their marriage was arranged. Part of her hesitation with going through with the marriage is because she feared that Damian didn't want to marry a girl ten years his junior. At Violet's encouragement, Charlotte wrote personal letters to Damian, asking what he wanted, even offering to break the engagement if he didn't feel the same way. He admits that he does love her too. Later episodes showed them being HappilyMarried.

* ''Manga/InThisCornerOfTheWorld'''s main plot starts when main character Suzu gets a proposal of marriage from Shuusaku Houjou, a man she's never met, seemingly out of nowhere (or [[ForgottenFirstMeeting so she thinks]]). Despite how sudden this is for Suzu, she does gradually grow to love him back.

* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInThePrincessAndThePauper:'' King Dominic and Princess Anneliese are betrothed, and he ''thinks'' his burgeoning romance with her is this. In reality, it's not actually Anneliese but her IdenticalStranger Erika, who's disguised as her to keep the engagement on while the real Anneliese has been kidnapped. In the end, everything works out when Anneliese returns and Dominic and Erika marry.

** Jon Snow and Natasha Sand were both bastards, so they never expected to have a spouse picked for them. Until their families - Stark and Martell - decide to ally through their wedding, and the teens realize they do get along quite well. [[spoiler: This is later complicated somewhat when it is [[InternalReveal revealed]] that Natasha is the Black Widow, answering to the mysterious Council. Jon, unsurprisingly, feels betrayed and believes she doesnt' relly love him - though he still loves her, as she loves him.]]

* In ''Manga/TwinStarExorcists'', Rokuro and Benio are forced to get married because fate says they will bear the child that saves the world. They do not care for this - especially since they're barely teenagers - but understand that the other isn't to blame and eventually fall in love.

* Zigzagged in ''Literature/GrandmasterOfDemonicCultivationMoDaoZuShi'' with Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan who were engaged as children by their mothers. While Jiang Yanli always liked Jin Zixuan, he initially did not reciprocate and had a low opinion of her. Not wanting their children to be in an unhappy marriage, their fathers dissolved the arrangement when they were older. However, over time Jin Zixuan begins to see her good qualities, has his own JerkassRealization and geninuely falls for her. This would lead them to marry out of their own free will and were one of the few HappilyMarried couples before their tragic deaths.

* Behold, ''Los Reyes Católicos'' (Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile--).. Following their advisors (and, on Ferdinand's part, the recommendations of his father), they mutually arranged their marriage for purely political reasons--their marriage would unite the Castilian and Aragonese branches of the House of Trastámara and place all the Christian kingdoms of Iberia (save Portugal) under a single royal line. However, they were both young, reasonably attractive, and made a good team, and by all accounts, they got along tremendously (although not good enough to keep him from taking mistresses). Additionally, at least four of their five children and their most famous grandchild all had marriages like this--with the twist that it never ended well:

* Souma with [[SupportingHarem Liscia, Roroa, and Naden]] in ''LightNovel/HowARealistHeroRebuiltTheKingdom''. All of these marriages were forced upon them, but they all come to truly love each other over time. [[spoiler:In Liscia's case, this was [[InvokedTrope invoked]] by her father, who had memories of an alternate timeline where the two met and fell in love naturally.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Seuls}}'': Saul and Camille, per the former's group's rule, ends up being married. As they spend time together, they genuinely fall in love with each other, with Camille being Saul's MoralityPet. [[spoiler: Up until Saul ends up being the champion of the First Families and of Good while Camille is the "Midnight-Child", champion of the Last Families and of Evil. And even then, it's clear Saul still loves Camille. It's a bit more unclear on Camille's side of things, though.]]

* In ''Blind'', a ''Naruto'' Fanfic, 99% of arranged marriages with a Hyuga end up this way. How, you ask? Well, the bride and groom are told at the age of 3 who they're arranged to marry but told that the other person doesn't know. They then have the option of trying to win the other person's love but have until they are 15 as they have to tell their spouse about the arrangement and when they're 16 they marry whether there is love or isn't. Many choose the former.

* King Kelson of Creator/KatherineKurtz's Literature/{{Deryni}} series has truly rotten luck with his brides. His first marriage is a politically important match to a princess of a rival house who, better still, has been raised to regard him as hellspawn. Kelson is incredibly nervous, but the girl is young and beautiful - and he is seventeen - so by the time the wedding day rolls around he's convinced he's falling in love, and there are indications that the girl may be too. Unfortunately, Kelson is [[WidowedAtTheWedding widowed before the ceremony ends]]. In the next book, he falls in love with a perfectly acceptable princess - who, due to convolutions of plot, is rendered politically impossible as his wife. It is she who arranges for Kelson to marry his final prospect, a cousin who is a really ideal match from the political point of view. At first Kelson, still desperately in love with the other lady, can hardly bear the thought of marrying elsewhere; but as he gets to know Araxie better, the marriage becomes less and less distasteful to him...

* ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' features one perfectly arranged couple that ruins ''another'' arranged couple. Duke [[BigGood Leto Atreides]] has Lady Jessica as a concubine. He has to stay technically unmarried because he is a noble and might need to link House Atreides to another House; while Jessica is a [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Bene Gesserit]] (scheming psychic space-witch), she is not of the nobility. Despite all that, they are ''very'' devotedly in love, which may have screwed the other Bene Gesserit over. Leto[=/=]Jessica was [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage arranged]] by the other Bene Gesserit [[SuperBreedingProgram as one of the last steps in a very convoluted plan]] to produce [[TheUnfettered the Kwisatz Haderach]] (''male'' scheming psychic space-witch [[StoryBreakerPower except even more powerful]]). Jessica, who can control her child's sex, was supposed to have a daughter who could be bred to a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Harkonnen]] son, and ''their'' child would be the Kwisatz Haderach. However, Jessica loved Leto so much she chose to bear him an [[HeirClubForMen heir]], [[TheHero Paul]], who as it turns out is the Kwisatz Haderach anyway. That little blip in the plan kicks off the whole epic.

* Not technically arranged, but in Creator/OrsonScottCard's [[Literature/EndersGame Enderverse]] short story "Teacher's Pest" government agents manipulate Theresa and John Paul together, hoping that they'll get married and produce genius babies. They're smart enough to figure out what's happening, but, as John Paul says "even in cultures with actual arranged marriages, you're not forbidden to fall in love with your spouse."

A variant is that both meet outside of the home environment (before or after the declaration) [[TwoPersonLoveTriangle without immediately recognizing each other]]. Maybe they ran away from home entirely, only to happily embrace "a fellow in misery" -- and ''later'' commiserate about their bossy parents. Eventually, once they recognize one another, their shared common ground helps them fall in love.

* The aim of the reality series ''Series/MarriedAtFirstSight'', which arranges marriages between strangers based on compatibility. And [[UpToEleven they don't even meet until the day of the wedding]]. Surprisingly enough, some couples did stay together after the show.

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': Zigzagged. When the Pastel King Jack goes to tell his daughters of their arranged marriages, he's worried they'll be upset. His musings are interrupted by them squeeing over their handsome husbands-to-be (and anticipating the wedding night a little too eagerly for his comfort). While her sisters pair up just fine, poor [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn's]] introduction to her prospective groom Prince Frederick does not go off rosily. With that said, as the story progresses it becomes apparent that Princes Blaine and Lance are still practically strangers to Maria and Lorena, as much as they might be well suited to their respective betrotheds in the long run. Conversely, it is Prince Frederick -- [[CharacterDevelopment despite originally claiming disinterest in Gwen]] -- who gets to know her a lot more personally by [[TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside focusing on her personality rather than being satisfied with looks alone]].

** In the backstory, Lord and Lady Grantham are themselves a quasi-example: although there was no direct arrangement between their families, Robert married Cora for her money and her money alone. Cora loved Robert from the beginning, and Robert quickly grew to feel the same towards her, to the point where he became deeply ashamed of his initial motivations. By the time we meet them, they're clearly happy together.

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': Zigzagged. When the Pastel King Jack goes to tell his daughters of their arranged marriages, he's worried they'll be upset. His musings are interrupted by them squeeing over their handsome husbands-to-be (and anticipating the wedding night a little too eagerly for his comfort). While her sisters pair up just fine, poor [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn's]] introduction to her prospective groom does not go off rosily. With that said, as the story progresses it becomes apparent that Princes Blaine and Lance are still practically strangers to Maria and Lorena, as much as they might be well suited to their respective betrotheds in the long run. Interestingly, it is Prince Frederick -- [[CharacterDevelopment despite originally claiming disinterest in Gwen]] -- who gets to know her a lot more personally by [[TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside focusing on her personality rather than being satisfied with looks alone]].

* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': Zigzagged. When the Pastel King Jack goes to tell his daughters of their arranged marriages, he's worried they'll be upset. His musings are interrupted by them squeeing over their handsome husbands-to-be (and anticipating the wedding night a little too eagerly for his comfort). While her sisters pair up just fine, poor [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn's]] introduction to her prospective groom does not go off rosily. With that said, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that whilst Princes Blaine and Lance might be well suited for Maria and Lorena they are still practically strangers to each other. Interestingly, it is Prince Frederick -- [[CharacterDevelopment despite originally claiming disinterest in Gwen]] -- who gets to know her a lot more personally by [[TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside focusing on her personality rather than being satisfied with looks alone]].